QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Hayfork, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Hayfork in the 24 hours to 4:18 am PST (12:18 UTC). The last one was M 3.7, 42 km (26 mi) W, at 2:44 pm PDT on 7 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 15 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Hayfork

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 30 km (19 mi) west of Hayfork, CA, at 12:39 pm PDT on 26 April 2018 (19:39 UTC), 28 km deep.

USGS: 30km W of Hayfork, CA

12:39 pm PDT, Apr 26, 2018 · · 28 km deep · released about 38 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Humboldt County 36 kmTrinity County 37 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
12:39 pm PDT on 26 April 2018 ()
Where
30 km (19 mi) west of Hayfork, CA · earthquakes near Hayfork
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
28 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Humboldt County, 36 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3115 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Hayfork, 30 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 38 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 390,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 280,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 25× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 38 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.8 on 2016-07-21 — about 13,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.4 The 1954 Eureka-Arcata, California Earthquake · 43 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 Near Eureka, California · 47 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 15 km SW of Burnt Ranch, California · 18 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 3 km NNW of Burnt Ranch, California · 30 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 2 km E of Rio Dell, California · 47 km W of this epicentre

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 40.5678, -123.5370. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Humboldt County, CA 36 km (23 mi) WNW earthquakes near Humboldt County
Trinity County, CA 37 km (23 mi) ENE earthquakes near Trinity County
Tehama County, CA 121 km (75 mi) ESE earthquakes near Tehama County
Siskiyou County, CA 141 km (88 mi) NE earthquakes near Siskiyou County
Glenn County, CA 144 km (90 mi) SE earthquakes near Glenn County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.6 29km NNW of Hayfork, CA
  2. 2.5 30km N of Redway, CA
  3. 1.8 19km SSE of Hayfork, CA
  4. 2.1 22km SSW of Willow Creek, CA
  5. 1.9 28km W of Hayfork, CA
  6. 2.5 29km W of Hayfork, CA
  7. 2.3 17km ESE of Hayfork, CA
  8. 2.5 25km W of Hayfork, CA
  9. 1.6 23km NNE of Redway, CA
  10. 2.1 27km W of Hayfork, CA
  11. 2.2 27km E of Rio Dell, CA
  12. 2.2 6km NNE of Hydesville, CA
  13. 2.1 6km NNE of Hydesville, CA
  14. 2.7 6km NNE of Hydesville, CA
  15. 1.9 24km SSE of Blue Lake, CA

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.